stevemd Posted March 25, 2014 Report Share Posted March 25, 2014 I have a V70 2.5T which originally came with 16" wheels/tires. I changed up to Volvo 17" and 235/45 Conti DSW tires as well as Koni yellows and the XC90 upper strut mount. Big improvement in handling even with the Koni's set to full soft. However potholes and bumps are very noticeable and it seems as if the heavy 17" wheels and tires are just too much for the suspension or unibody to deal with. I am going to do the lower control arms and ball joints (if necessary) soon as the OG's have 110k. The sway bar links have been done. I sometimes wonder if upgrading the springs to the R coils would help since the R's did come with 17"s. I don't want to go lower, though. I checked springs listed for a 2006 V70 2.5T at volvopartslisle.com and there are about 10 different springs listed! So, I bet that the cars with 17"s did come with higher rate springs. I was told on another forum that the Conti DSW's are just rough riders. Thanks for any advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jschaefer7406 Posted March 25, 2014 Report Share Posted March 25, 2014 Hello, Wheels and tires are considered "unsprung" weight, so springs have no bearing on tire/wheel size. The difference in ride quality is likely from switching to a lower profile (and stiffer) tire . Hope this helps, Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burnout8488 Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 What Joe said, the suspension has no idea what kind of wheels and tires you have on the car(As far as ride quality is concerned) since the wheels aren't part of the vehicle's weight sitting on the springs. Conti DSWs are about the most comfortable performance all-season I've ever had the pleasure of driving on. They actually have a softer sidewall than most high performance A/S tires. Not sure what they're smoking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevemd Posted March 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 Hello, Wheels and tires are considered "unsprung" weight, so springs have no bearing on tire/wheel size. The difference in ride quality is likely from switching to a lower profile (and stiffer) tire . Hope this helps, Joe Thanks, Joe. We drove through Williamsport Friday and again on Monday returning from Rochester. Rt 15 is a nice and scenic drive. I know I have upped the unsprung weight by going to 17" wheels and tires and have a nagging feeling that stiffer springs would help and wouldn't necessarily result in a rougher ride on bad roads. I mean, Volvo lists 10 different springs for my car although that could just be volvopartslisle.com lumping in XC and R springs but I can't tell for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRL Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 17s will ALWAYS be a little "rougher" than 16s, 18s rougher than 17s and so forth. You have less sidewall, that's more what you're feeling, not the weight. R springs are NOT the way to go. If you want to change springs, either new stock Volvo springs or a lowering spring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevemd Posted March 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 Yep, I did not expect a smoother more comfy ride going to lower profile tires. What bugs me mostly is some shuddering after a hard impact. Will report back after I do the control arms and check the ball joints. If the Conti's sidewalls are so flexy, I wonder if that would contribute. I tend to run 2 psi over the specified tire psi. especially when loaded down with stuff/humans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.